The Riveras Insert 13 - Soulmates
by J-R Virtual Seasons
Summary: August 2015: Kevin and the gang attend a wedding.


Kevin, Oscar, Lucy, Jandro, Michael and Ella were sitting around a table at a wedding reception, listening to Stephanie making a speech from the top table.

'I don't think I'll be able to remember everyone I want to thank for making today happen,' Stephanie was saying, 'but I'll try my best. I want to thank _all_ of you for coming, of course. I want to thank my mom and dad and Catherine's mom and dad for... well, for everything they've done, which is a hell of a lot, and I want to thank my brand new sister-in-law Amelia for organising the marquee and arranging the flowers, and I want to thank my Shawn... my brother Shawn for being such an excellent usher. And finally there's someone I want to thank more than anyone else, for being my best friend, my soulmate, my wife... my Kitty-Cat.'

Giggling and looking very embarrassed, Catherine rose to her feet. She and Stephanie threw their arms around each other, then their lips moved together and they kissed passionately. Everyone cheered.

'God I love you, Stephie,' said Catherine, when the two finally drew apart. 'I love you so much.'

'And I love you, Cat,' said Stephanie.

As they started to kiss again, Shawn stood up with a glass in his hand.

'A toast to the blushing brides!' he declared. 'To Stephanie and Catherine.'

Everyone echoed the toast and clinked their glasses. Catherine and Stephanie drew apart again, revealing that Shawn's description of them as 'blushing' was now very apt.

'Thank you all so much,' said Catherine, tears running down her cheeks.

'Now let's really get this party started and move on to the disco!' Stephanie declared. 'Shawn, is the DJ ready?'

Shawn grinned, pulled a pair of dark glasses from his top pocket, slipped them over his eyes and said, 'He sure is! And he just wants to say one thing before he gets started – happy wedding day, sis!'

* * *

Kevin and Oscar were dancing to 'Pure Shores' by the light of the overhead mirror-ball when Ella came up and tapped Oscar on the shoulder.

'Come and dance with me, Oscar,' she said. 'Mike's giving Stephanie a ballpark home redecoration estimate.'

'Er... okay,' said Oscar, as he was dragged away from his partner.

'You can have him back in a little while, Kev!' Ella called over her shoulder.

Before Kevin had quite taken in what was happening, Catherine came up to him and looped her arms around his neck. She smiled at him; he smiled back and started to sway with her.

'I'm really glad you came, Kevin,' said Catherine. 'All six of you, I mean.'

'I know all six of us were really glad to be invited, Catherine,' said Kevin.

'Me and Stephie both really wanted to invite Ella,' said Catherine, 'and I really wanted to invite Lucy, so obviously we had to invite Michael and Jandro too.'

'And me and Oscar are just here to make up the numbers, huh?'

'Oh no, not at all. I always liked you, Kevin; we both did. You were _so_ much nicer than all the other boys at school.'

'Jandro was always as nice as me.'

'That's true, but we thought he seemed like kind of a perv so we didn't like him all that much.'

'Oh, I see,' Kevin laughed.

'I'm having an unexpected thought right now,' said Catherine, 'but I'll have to let you in on a very big secret before I tell you what it is. Can you keep a secret, Kev?'

'Yes, if you want me to,' said Kevin.

'You can tell Oscar, I guess,' said Catherine, 'but no one else. The fact is that I'm pregnant – only about eight weeks, so we're not announcing it yet. But the unexpected thought I just had is, it's too bad we didn't think of getting in touch with you and Oscar to see if you wanted to go in on a baby together and co-parent.'

'Oh,' said Kevin. 'Yeah, that would've been something to seriously think about. So, do you mind if I ask how...?'

'Sperm bank,' said Catherine. 'Me and Stephie both... well, made a withdrawal and then a deposit, as you might say... and I got lucky first time!'

'That's wonderful news, Catherine,' said Kevin.

'We sure think so,' said Catherine, smiling. 'We knew we wanted to get married and we knew we wanted to have a baby, and this seemed like the right time for us to do both.'

'Fair enough,' said Kevin.

'Is having a baby something you and Oscar want to do?'

'Yes, very much so. Well, _I_ definitely want to and I'm pretty sure Oscar does too.'

'Sounds like you might not be in quite the right place just yet.'

'Yeah, maybe not.'

'I guess it's a lot easier for two women to have a baby than for two men,' said Catherine. 'I know donor eggs are much harder to get hold of than donor sperm, and then you have to find someone to actually carry it for you!'

'There are several options we might look at,' said Kevin. 'Surrogacy's only one of them. It'll happen when it's meant to happen.'

'I'm sure it will,' said Catherine, giving him a glowing smile.

'Of course, er... if you and Stephanie ever want to have _another_ baby,' said Kevin, 'you'll bear me and Oscar in mind, won't you?'

Catherine smiled and said, 'You'll be at the top of our list, Kev.'

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the room, Shawn had taken temporary leave of his DJ equipment to dance with Amelia.

'You really are a great DJ,' she said to him.

'Thanks,' said Shawn. 'My parents keep on telling me to find a "real" job.'

'Your job _is_ a real job,' said Amelia.

'That's what I keep on telling _them_,' said Shawn.

'Have you been getting any lately?'

'Bookings, you mean?'

'Yeah,' Amelia giggled.

'I've been getting enough,' said Shawn. 'I don't mind riding out the dry spells when they _do_ come, though – being a DJ is my dream and I love it.'

'Oh yeah, you've _got_ to follow your dreams,' said Amelia. 'You know, even though I'm happier for our sisters than I can put into words, I can't help feeling just a teensy bit jealous as well. I'd really like to find _my_ soulmate but I doubt I ever will, especially now I've hit the big three-oh.'

'There's no age limit for that kind of thing,' said Shawn. 'And even if there was, I'm sure it'd be _way_ more than thirty!'

Amelia laughed; Shawn smiled.

'How old are _you_ now, Shawn?' Amelia asked.

'Twenty-two,' said Shawn.

'I remember when you used to run all over the front yard wearing nothing but a diaper,' said Amelia.

Shawn grinned and said, 'What makes you think I don't _still_ do that sometimes?'

Amelia laughed again, then she rested her head on his chest as the two continued to sway together.

* * *

Some hours later, Beth's car pulled into the garage and drew to a halt. Kevin switched off the engine.

'It's too bad Catherine and Stephanie didn't think to get in touch with us – with you and me, I mean – before they decided to use the sperm bank,' said Oscar. 'We could've gone in on a baby together and co-parented.'

'That's exactly what Catherine said,' said Kevin.

'We could've given them _loads_ of jizz to play around with!'

'Yeah, we could. You, er... you would've gone for that idea, then, if they _had_ suggested it?'

'Of course I would,' said Oscar. 'I know how much you want to be a dad someday and... well, I want to be one with you.'

'You don't just want to do it for _me_, though, right?' said Kevin.

'Of course not,' said Oscar. 'I want to do it for _us_. I mean, I don't want to go out _tomorrow_ and start trying to organise a kid in any way we can, but when the time's right and the opportunity presents itself... yeah, it's something I really want us to do.'

Kevin's face split into a huge smile, then he leaned across and kissed Oscar deeply. Oscar kissed him back with enthusiasm, until Kevin accidentally leant on the car horn.

'Oh, jeez!' Kevin exclaimed in alarm. 'I've probably woken up the whole neighbourhood now.'

'Let's get upstairs and go to bed,' said Oscar, his eyes shining with desire.

'You go ahead and warm it up for me,' said Kevin. 'I'll just shoot along to the house and return Mom's car key.'

'Okay,' said Oscar.

* * *

Kevin unlocked the front door and went into the hallway as quietly as he could. He saw that the kitchen door was open and the light was on, so he headed in that direction. He found Carl sitting at the breakfast bar, drinking coffee and eating toast.

'Hi, Dad,' said Kevin. 'Kinda early for breakfast, isn't it?'

'It would be, but I'm not _having_ breakfast,' said Carl. 'I only just got back from work – I had to stay late and book in a whole bunch of drunks.'

'Bad luck,' said Kevin. 'I just came to return Mom's car key.'

'So I see,' said Carl, as Kevin deposited the key on a nearby counter. 'Did you have a good time at the lesbian wedding?'

Kevin frowned and said, 'You don't need to call it a _lesbian_ wedding, Dad.'

'Oh. What do I call it, then?'

'Just a wedding!'

'It was full of lesbians, though, wasn't it?'

'No! I mean, not that I know of. It was full of Catherine and Stephanie's friends and family, just like any other wedding would've been!'

'Aren't their friends all lesbians?' said Carl, sounding genuinely surprised.

'No, Dad!' said Kevin. 'I mean, I don't _know_ how many of them are or aren't, and it really doesn't matter anyway!'

'No, of course not,' Carl said hastily. 'I'm sorry, Kevin.'

'To answer your question, I _did_ have a good time and I'm very glad I went,' said Kevin. 'And now I've returned the car key and Oscar's waiting for me, so I'll be on my way.'

'Before you go, son,' said Carl, 'can I show you something real quick?'

'What?' said Kevin.

'This,' said Carl, reaching into his top pocket. 'Captain Logan called me into his office this morning and gave it to me personally.'

Kevin came closer to the breakfast bar and reached out to receive the police shield that Carl was holding towards him.

'_City of New York Police Lieutenant_,' Kevin read off the badge. 'You... you did it, Dad. That's... that's wonderful!'

'There's a ceremony next week, if you want to come.'

'Sure, I'd love to.'

'No more booking in drunks half the night for _this_ cop!'

'I guess not.'

'I've finally achieved the same rank as my father,' said Carl. 'I think he'd be proud of me for that.'

'Of course he would!' said Kevin. 'Just like he'd be proud of _me_ for being a senior nurse practitioner, and he'd be proud of Eduardo for being the chief Ghostbuster.'

Carl raised his eyebrows, but made no verbal reply to this.

'You'd better get back to Oscar now, hadn't you?' he said.

'Yeah, I better had,' said Kevin. 'Goodnight, Dad.'

'Goodnight, son.'

* * *

Kevin went back into the main hallway and found James waiting for him at the foot of the stairs, dressed in a pair of pyjama bottoms and looking a little unsettled.

'Hiya, Kev,' said James. 'Did you have a good time at the wedding?'

'Yeah, I did,' said Kevin. 'I'm surprised to see you up and about at this hour, Jimmy.'

'I _was_ asleep,' said James, 'but then I... woke up.'

'Because you heard a car horn?' Kevin asked worriedly.

'No, I didn't hear a car horn,' said James. 'Kev, could you come up to my room real quick? I need to tell you something... and show you something.'

'Yeah, of course,' said Kevin. 'What's going on? Are you okay?'

'Um... I'm _pretty_ sure I'm okay,' said James. 'Just... just come on up and you'll understand.'

'Okay,' said Kevin, and followed his brother upstairs.

* * *

Kevin entered the apartment, locked the door behind him, kicked off his shoes and then sank down onto the bed, where Oscar was waiting for him.

'I'd never have thought it could take so long to return a key,' Oscar remarked.

'Me either,' Kevin said with a laugh. 'I ran into my dad in the kitchen and we had a little talk – he made lieutenant, by the way – then James intercepted me in the hallway and took me up to his room for _another_ little talk.'

'Any more details you want to share about either of those little talks?'

'Nothing _really_ new in the one I had with Dad... but it was certainly a different story with James!'

'Intriguing,' said Oscar. 'Can I hear any specifics, or have you been sworn to secrecy?'

'I'm allowed to tell you if I want, but I'm absolutely _not_ to tell Mom and Dad,' said Kevin. 'Jimmy's started having wet dreams. We compared notes on the subject and I outlined the potential benefits of jacking off before going to bed. Then we changed his sheets.'

'That kid is really lucky to have you,' said Oscar. 'And he's not the only one, of course.'

'I don't know why everyone keeps feeling the need to talk to me about jizz tonight,' said Kevin.

Oscar burst out laughing and said, 'I'll bet your _dad_ didn't mention it!'

'No,' said Kevin, grinning, 'he didn't.'

'Speaking of jizz,' said Oscar, 'I've been thinking some more about you and me trying for a baby. As in, right now!'

'How do you mean?' said Kevin.

'Well,' Oscar giggled, 'just because we know we can't possibly _succeed_, that doesn't mean we can't _try_, does it?'

'Of course,' Kevin laughed, 'we can _try_ all we want! I'll just go use the bathroom first, okay?'

Oscar smiled and said, 'Don't be too long.'

* * *

Catherine turned over in bed and looked into Stephanie's eyes.

'I told Kevin I'm pregnant,' she said.

'Oh,' said Stephanie. 'Well, that's okay – I know he won't blab.'

'I said he could tell Oscar too. But no one else!'

'That's fine, Cat. You know, it's too bad we didn't think of asking those two if they wanted to combine forces with us – genetically, I mean – and co-parent. I know we've never exactly been close and we've barely even spoken to them for ten years, but... well, they're a couple of really nice gay guys and I think it could've worked out.'

'Kevin thinks so too,' said Catherine. 'He wants us to get in touch if we ever feel like having _another_ baby.'

'That's worth bearing in mind,' said Stephanie. 'Still, let's just concentrate on the one we've got for now.'

'No,' said Catherine. 'For now, let's just concentrate on the fact that it's our wedding night! I've never been happier than I am right now, Stephie.'

'Neither have I, Cat,' said Stephanie, reaching out to stroke her hair. 'So, should we go ahead and consummate our marriage?'

Catherine giggled and said, 'You make it sound so clinical.'

'Sorry,' said Stephanie. 'But you won't be feeling clinical after I get through with you!'

Their bodies and their lips were soon inextricably entwined, and seemed likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future.


End file.
